Pistobt-packibtq



. N. S. WILLIAMS.

PISTON PACKING- APPLICATION -F|LED OCT. 25, I920.

1,392,035, PatentedSept. 27,1921.

PATENT OFFICE UNITED STATES NOLAN S. WILLIAMS, 011 EL PASO, TEXAS.

PISTON-PAOKING.

1 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, NOLAN S. VVILLiAMs, a citizen of the United States, residing at l Paso, in the county of El Paso and State of Texas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Piston-Packings; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The present invention relates to improvements in piston packing, and has for an ob ject to provide a moreefl'ective packing for the reciprocating pistons in gas, steam, and

the like engines, or pumps employing pistons of a like character in which there will be less likelihood of any loss of compression.

Another object of the invention resides in providing a cooperative arrangement between the piston and packing ring by which a film of oil held within the piston groove may be discharged through openings in the ring against the cylinder wall, so as to effectively lubricate the frictional surfaces of the moving parts and at the same time form an effective seal against the escape of gases from the cylinder head into the crank case.

A further object of the invention resides in providing an improved construction of piston and combined packing ring in which there willexist a tendency to expand the ring tightly against the cylinder wall'when the. piston is moved in either direction, so

that at all times tight frictional fit between the piston and cylinder may be obtained in order to avoidthe loss of power resulting from leaky joints. 7 V

A still further object of the invention is to provide a simple and inexpensive construction of cylinder and packing ring for carrying out the above described objects and purposes.

With, these and other objects in view the invention consists in the novel details of construction and combinations of parts more fully hereinafter disclosed and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings forming a part of this application, and in which similar reference symbols indicate correspondin parts in the several views:

%*igure 1 is a fragmentary view in vertical section of a cyhnder and piston show- Specification of Letters Patent Patented Sept. 2'7 1921 Application filed October 25, 1920.

Serial No. 419,323.

ing a construction according to the invention v Fig. 2 is a view partially in plan and partially in section of one of the improved pack- 111 rings;

l ig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of the ring and the construction of piston groove with the ring in place therein; and

Fig. 4 is a similar view with the packing ring removed.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, l designates the cylinder of an engine or pump, for instance, the vertically disposed cylinder of a gas engine of the conventional type employed for driving automobiles, and 2 refers to a piston fitted to reciprocate in a vertical direction therein.

According to the present invention the piston 2 besides being formed with the usual grooves 3 to receive packing rings, is also provided with an annular bead 4- extending outwardly from the base of each groove 3 and provided with upper and lower beveled or inclined walls 5 and 6 forming in cross section a substantially truncated cone with its "base arranged in the vertical and with its apex removed.

The inclined walls 5 and 6 converge outwardly with respect to the piston, and a trough 7 is provided between the outer ends of the same, such trough being preferpresent ably, though not necessarily formed with p nu ar tongues 10 and 11 projecting from the upper and lower portions thereof, the adj acent faces of which are inclined or tapered as indicated at 12 and 13, being of a character to conform substantially to the formation given the walls 5 and 6 of the bead 4.

A cotiperation exists between these tapered walls, as is indicated in Fig. 3.

A projection 14 is formed at the inner side of the ring 8 between the convergent ends of the walls 12 and 13, this projection being of a size and shape to fit within the trough 7 of the bead 4. At suitable intervals oil ducts 15 are made through the ring 8 and through the projection 14, so that the oil ducts at their inner ends are in communication with the troughs 7 and open at their outer ends directly against the cylinder wall.

In use the piston 2 reciprocates up and down in the cylinder much in the usual manner, due to the explosion of the driving medium in the top of the cylinder above the same. As the piston 2 moves downwardly in the cylinder 1. it carries the ring or rings 8 with which it is equipped downwardly, but there is a certain lag of the ring due to its frictional engagement with the cylinder wall, which results in the in clined surfaces 6 and 13 coming into contact. The character of these inclinations will tendto expand the ring 8 at its joint 9, causing it to be more forcibly bound against the interior wall of the cylinder 1, which is effective to avoid a leakage of the compression beneath the piston 2 and into the crank case.

On the contrary, when the piston 2 ascends in the cylinder 1, the rings 8 lag in the opposite direction, as a consequence of which the inclined walls 5 and 12 will coact in a similar manner to expand the rings and cause them to form an effective and tight joint with the cylinder wall.

It has been found in actual practice that whenever an explosion occurs in the cylinder head, it operates, besides driving the piston 2 downwardly, to cause a compression of the packing rings 8, and this result is taken advantage of in the present con struction to lubricate the outer surface of the rings and consequently the adjacent walls of the cylinder, so as to eliminate an excessively high degree of friction that would tend to wear away these parts and necessitate either the reboring of the cylinderor the introduction of oversize rings, which are now found necessary in many such cases.

of the heads 4.

Oil from the crank case beingsplashed up by the cranks will find its way into'the grooves 3 and will lodge in the troughs 7 Vof given circumference, and besides lubrieating these parts the oil further forms an entrapped film, constituting a seal to avoid the passage of the compressed gases.

The piston rings will therefore expand and contract automatically by the reciprocating movement of the piston, and as a consequence of the force of the explosion, and will both lubricate the moving and coin tacting parts besides forming cfiectively tight joints.

It is obvious that those skilled in the art may vary the details of construction and arrangements of parts without departing from the spirit of my invention, and therefore I do not wish to be limited to such features except as may be required by the claims.

I claim:

1. In combination with a piston having a groove therein, a bead in the groove pro vided with a trough, and a packing ring fitted in the groove and being expansible therein, said ring having a projection adapted to enter the trough, and ducts in communication with the trough and the outside of the ring respectively, substantially as described.

2. In combination with a piston having a groove therein, a bead in the base of the groove provided with inclined walls and a trough, and a packing ring fitted in the groove having inclined faces adapted to co operate with. said inclined walls and being further provided with a projection adapted to enter said trough, said ring also having ducts communicating with the trough and with the outside of the ring, substantially as described.

3. In combination with a piston having an annular groove therein opening on its cxterior face, an annular bead placed in the base of the groove and having upper and lower inclined walls converging outwardly, a trough provided at the outer end of said head, and an expansible packing ring placed in said groove and having tongues extending inwardly from its upper and lower edges provided with inclined faces adapted to bear against said inclined walls, said ring having a projection between the convergent ends of said faces, said projection adapted to enter the trough in said bead, said ring further having a plurality of radially disposed oil ducts passing transversely therethrough, substantially as described.

NOLAN S. lVILLlAMS. 

